OM: The Pranava

Joseph Campbell was an American author and editor whose works on comparative mythology examined the universal functions of myth in various human cultures. During the final years of his life, Campbell embarked on a speaking tour in which he drew together all that he...

How Mantras Work

In 1976, Swami Satchidananda was giving this talk (below) on Yoga in Denver, Colorado. Yoga was something that wasn’t widely practiced, or understood, in its broader and deepest sense at that time—and in large part, still isn’t today. And, the use of...

Spiritual Alchemy

What does it mean when a scripture or spiritual teacher tells us to “mentally keep quiet?” It means to raise above your mind. When I did that, in that moment, I didn’t see all the differences, all the separateness. I saw only the unity in all of the diversity—the...

Hatha Yoga: The Sadhana of Kali Yuga and Hatha’s Texts

The sages advised that since, in Kali Yuga, humankind is preoccupied with the body, an important sadhana or spiritual practice for this age is Hatha Yoga—the science of achieving higher consciousness through the disciplines of body and breath. In this article, the...